Ecuador does not recognize Ukraine’s ‘illegitimate’ govt - Correa

Ecuador has said it will not deal with the coup-appointed government in Kiev and has called for fair elections. President Rafael Correa declared he would only negotiate with a “legitimate government” that represents the will of the Ukrainian people.

In his weekly address to the Ecuadorian people, Correa explained
why Ecuador had abstained from the UN General Assembly vote
Thursday that passed a resolution condemning Crimea’s union with
Russia.

“We will not fall for a farce, we will only deal with a
legitimate government,” said Correa, adding that Ecuador
does not recognize the current government that is the product of
a coup d’état. To win the support of Ecuador, Ukraine should hold
democratic elections and establish a legitimate government chosen
by the Ukrainian people, Correa said.

Moscow has also decried the coup-appointed government that came
to power in Kiev at the end of February following weeks of bloody
protests in the Ukrainian capital’s Independence Square.

"The current government is the product of devious
machinations, to put to it mildly, clearly supported by
hypocritical rhetoric from the West,” Correa said.

On Crimea’s decision to become a part of Russia and break from
Ukraine, he said the region was “historically Russian,”
but the Crimean referendum “does not change the constitution.”

With this in mind, Correa explained that Ecuador could not accept
the stance of the Ukrainian government - which he described as an
extension of the United States - or Moscow’s position until
Crimea’s status had been clarified.

Ecuador, along with 58 other nations, abstained from a UN General
Assembly vote Thursday that condemned Crimea’s referendum to join
Russia as “illegal.” The resolution was supported by 100
nations, while 11 opposed it.

Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, a General Assembly
resolution is not legally binding.

Russia condemned the UN assembly vote as
“confrontational” and undermining the referendum and the
right to self-determination of the Crimean people. The initiative
for Crimea to reunite with Russia came from the Crimean people
themselves, not from Moscow, said Russian Ambassador to the UN
Vitaly Churkin.

Russia also previously vetoed a Security Council resolution that
said the Crimean referendum to join Russia would have "no
validity" in an emergency session held the day before Crimea
headed to the polls.

On March 16, an overwhelming majority of Crimean residents voted
in favor of joining the Russian Federation, in the wake of bloody
protests in Kiev that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovich.